No Community

[Seig345]

"Waiting", "Paranoid", "Severe".

If those were the buzzwords used to describe an MMO, I wouldn't be optimistic about its widespread success.

They turn a game into something more like a project, or a focused hobby beyond just video games. They cater to far more than just people with more time on their hands and "unlimited !@#$'s to give", if anything I feel like they cater to people who use in-game progress to replace real-life accomplishments far more than FFXIV has or ever will. As it stands, if anyone tries to run around bragging about something they did in this game, most people will simply think "So what?" and in any case it'll be a matter of a few months before everyone else who wants to do it will have done it too.

You may see this as a negative quality of the game, but my point is it's hard to argue that any degree of accomplishment in this game is somehow a tangible, long lasting replacement for RL accomplishments in one's life. Instead it's a game meant to entertain and pass the time.

[Vidu]

I find it a little "troublesome" that some people here make it sound as if they need the game to provide them with an enviroment to form bonds with others - you need the game to make you wait so that you have time to talk to each other? Today thats viewed as bad game design because in that very moment the game isnt fullfilling its purpose as a game anymore (hence why many people asked to have the CD reset after wipes). I still have meaningful conversations with a lot of friends, often only logged in for that, talking for three hours til its 3 a.m. and we both should have been in bed an hour ago.

You are talking about people leaving all the time - and there are countless threads that discuss this issue (as in: There isnt enough content to keep us entertaint, please change!). I have a little trouble relating to that though - because I'm mostly sticking around for my friends atm. But at the same time I'm very happy, that I have the freedom to just leave the game alone for a week without screwing them over. (Maybe I have a flase imagine in mind about how the old MMOs worked, but right now I imagine it a bit as statics are today - if someone doesnt show up, you might be in trouble)
But let me tell you: You dont need this game to be/stay friends with someone! I have two friends (that I met through the game) who arent playing atm - we exchanged contact-information and are still talking.

So yeah... if you want friendship and a "community" for yourself this game is giving you the tools for it - but it isnt shoving them in your face, telling you that you absolutly have to do this now if you want to get anywhere.
If you cant form bonds/friendships without external pressure... that might be a problem you're having

[Ageofwar]

I would have to disagree with the OP because FFXIV does have a comunity it's just not in game, its more on tumblr, instagram and discord (and probably facebook too which i don't have)

I have met FFXIV players from other server and they have visited me on hyperion.

I have played with players in game and they have then found me on tumblr.

[aesteval]

Now there is no mystery, everything is a Google search and a YouTube video away.

That's a much broader change to the world and not just gaming.

The thing about challenge in xiv is that the game presents challenge as an option. Running higher end content, using the minimum ilvl toggle in DF. It's there. But you have to find your group to run with beforehand because no, the game doesn't force you into group early because the default accessibility to the game is for a wider audience to provide a larger revenue source. Speaking from the perspective of someone who had a goblin throwing rocks at them halfway across the continent on the way to Jeuno: xiv does not need that to be the default difficulty because it will drive subscriptions away.

[aesteval]

Want to add it into optional content? Sure. Want to make an argument for more meaningful gear choices? Ok. Want to make the open world more alive? Sounds good. But know that ease of access to basic content to make basic progress is of benefit to the game because even the MMO players of old may have more time and scheduling restraints than they used to have.

[Rinari]

Such severe game play allowed for powerful acts of altruism and true feelings of gratitude. The point I’ve been trying to illustrate is that when everything is vanilla you’ve limited the range of possible emotions.

You do realize that 'severe' games still exist right? They just aren't so popular because most people don't want to deal with that stress for what is essentially a way to relax in the evenings. In UO, for example, a death could mean losing your best gear that you spent months working on... or an invisible player could follow you into your house and loot your entire fortune. Severe, and it creates some of the best stories to come out of MMO worlds, but it isn't the sort of game most people actually want to play. It really sounds like you should be playing an MMO like Darkfall instead of FFXIV. FFXIV is designed to be a high budget, broad appeal, feature rich theme-park MMO. Part of that 'broad appeal' is that mechanics most players would find crippling are weeded out, leaving what you see as a vanilla experience. Of course, the broad appeal allows for a much higher player base and budget, so we can have pretty graphics and dungeon finder for easy grouping.

I do get it. Difficult mechanics force players to work together and communicate on a deeper level than what you get here. Even something simple like killing the duty finder, would foster that. If players had to actually talk to each other to form groups, there would be more forced socialization. Of course, if FFXIV went that route, they wouldn't be as popular and the game would have to contend with a smaller budget.

I get it, they’re not for everyone and maybe not even for me anymore but for those of you who still have 10 hours a day and unlimited fucks to give, you’re really missing out.

Exactly! There is reason I didn't stick with Archeage and never bothered even trying Darkfall. When I was a kid, with infinite time, games like that appealed to me. Now they do not. I just want a relaxing game now with enough depth to keep me interested, but not annoy me. There are games out there that strongly resemble what you remember so fondly about UO and XI. You have just decided not to play them, like the rest of us here. It would be silly to try and turn FFXIV into that. We'd just go to another 'vanilla' MMO.

[duhgirl2u2]

I guess I see your point OP, but honestly, in my short (4-9 days) playing I'm finding the community to be pretty great honestly. I've already made several new game friends and joined an awesome FC full of helpful and friendly people. Somewhat surprised to see that its an issue. I'm actually finding the opposite to be true. So far, this game has one of the best, friendliest, and most helpful communities I've found on an mmo to date.

Sorry, I think I've probably missed the point. No, it doesn't seem terribly hard, but then I'm level 27 and doubt I've really hit any content that would be difficult yet. I'm kinda ok with the content being engaging but not really that difficult or grueling to be honest. Like some of the other answering posters, I did the hard ones. I'm kinda ready for the relaxing one with the great community now.

[LineageRazor]

*Snip*

While I, too, have plenty of nostalgia for FFXI, and am in agreement with you on many things (for example, yeah, the equipment in this game is lame and provides no satisfaction because it's all junk in a few months), but let's not forget that even back then players strove for the same conveniences we enjoy now. Skillchains require communication and cooperation? Simple - it wasn't long at all before no one bothered to skillchain or magic burst. No YouTube videos? Check out Blugartr or Ffxiclopedia to study up on the fights - it's not as though folks typically went into them blind, heavens no!

I think it's a mistake to say that the brutality of FFXI is what promoted the kind of "fire-forged friendships" you're thinking of. Rather, that brutality tended to chase away everyone except a core group of borderline masochistic folks who happened to have a largely similar mindset toward gaming. Because of this similar mindset, it was easier to make friends - just about everyone playing the game for a long period of time had a firm dedication to the game. That core group is STILL HERE in FFXIV - it's just that in addition to that core group, there's all kinds of other folks who might not be quite on your wavelength.

It's not that the game is working to discourage friendships. Rather, it's that the kind of folks that you tend to make friends with are more diluted among a much greater variety of folks which you may or may not find common interests with.

[Rinari]

I guess I see your point OP, but honestly, in my short (4-9 days) playing I'm finding the community to be pretty great honestly. I've already made several new game friends and joined an awesome FC full of helpful and friendly people. Somewhat surprised to see that its an issue. I'm actually finding the opposite to be true. So far, this game has one of the best, friendliest, and most helpful communities I've found on an mmo to date.

That's been my experience as well. It even gets better as you reach the content that more players are working on. I think I'm about 6 weeks in now. I've got my FC, 2 active social linkshells, and plenty of friends outside of that. If you haven't already, ask around for a mentor to get an invite to the novice network! That's a wonderful place to chat, make friends, and learn about the game. You'll get kicked out when you finish the AAR MSQ, but it's a long journey to that point, so there is plenty of time to forge some friendships there.

[Enthy]

I think a really simple thing they could add to help build community is make it easy to see if players you team up with in Duty Finder are on the same server as you. Maybe make their name a different color or have an icon next to their name.

My reasoning is that we do most of our interaction with each other through Duty Finder with people from random servers. I don't bother to remember the names of random people I play with because I figure 'what are the odds I'll see them again? not likely'. But if I could identify who in my Duty Finder party is on my same server, I'd be more likely to remember them and maybe even seek them out after the Dungeon is over to be friends.

I know I could just ask "hey what server are you all from?" every Duty Finder run I do... But it would be really convenient if you could just see who's on the same server (especially for new players trying to make friends)